An independent and largely toothless US government commission on religious freedom has placed India on its watch list citing an increase in violence against Christians in Orissa and Muslims in Gujarat.

A U.S. missile strike that reportedly killed Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in Pakistan on Wednesday was the result of a high-level intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Pakistan. Both countries' intelligence agencies have increasingly collaborated in recent months, resulting in missile strikes by unmanned U.S. Predator drones that have eliminated threats to the Pakistani state. Now, U.S. analysts say, the big challenge is for Pakistan to provide intelligence that will help the U.S. forces go after the Taliban operating in Afghanistan.